One runoff will be for Area 4, where Jim Hudson won 681 votes (42 percent) and David McClellan won 601 votes (37 percent). There were eight candidates competing in Area 4.

The other runoff will be for Area 5, where Tripper Sharp — one of the plaintiffs to the 2007 lawsuit against the EMC — got 775 votes (46 percent), and Charles A. Sevier got 502 votes (30 percent). Nine candidates were vying for that seat.

I want to restore the integrity of the organization. Cobb EMC has gone through difficult times over the past several years but most of those problems are now behind us. It is time to move on. Establishing integrity and building trust are difficult and will take some time. New leadership that is open and accountable will be important to the healing and restoration process. The new board should use a forensic audit to determine how the system failed and make appropriate changes to ensure that Cobb EMC will never again be damaged by improper activities.

Every one of the new elected board members called for a forensic audit. Where did all that coal boondoggle money go? We’ll see if the new board members live up to their platforms.

Ding-dong, the wicked Cobb coal witch is dead. Sure, the other EMCs such as Washington that wanted to build Ben Hill Coal Plant could still somehow round up funding to do it, but this Cobb election signals what may happen to them if they try it. Perhaps they could get on with renewable energy such as conservation and solar.